SOCCER international Wayne Rooney has his footballing roots in North Wales.

The striker's grandad Bill Morrey and great-uncle Bernard both played for local soccer clubs.

Last night Bill recalled his days donning a shirt for Llandudno, Caernarfon and Holywell teams in the 50s.

The 74-year-old travelled by train from Merseyside to North Wales for six years during his career, before injury forced him to quit soccer.

He played alongside his brother Bernard, Wayne's great-uncle, at Llandudno.

Bill, who still lives in Liverpool, has fond memories of his time playing as a semi-professional footballer across North Wales.

Speaking to the Daily Post he said: "Me and my brother used to play for Llandudno. I was an inside forward and he was an outside left.

"He asked me to come and play at Llandudno. It was in the early 50s and I was in my 20s.

"I played there for three seasons. I was at Caernarfon for a season and then I played for Holywell for another two.

"Why did I play for them? Because they paid me, " added the father-of-nine. "We even made it to the final of the Alves Cup one season. We got beat 1-0 by Pwllheli. Tommy Jones scored a penalty and it was my brother that gave the penalty away."

Bill eventually had to give up his footballing career through injury at the age of 29, at the end of the 1950s.

Afterwards he worked as an assembler in Merseyside factories.

Bill said there wasn't much he could teach his teenage prodigy grandson, as the England striker takes the footballing world by storm. "Wayne can do it all himself, there was nothing I could show him," he said.

The 18-year-old has emerged as one of the greatest young British soccer talents to emerge for years.

He recently moved from his home side Everton to Manchester United for a staggering £27m fee, and is raring to go as soon as his broken foot heals.

Wayne grew up in the working class suburb of Croxteth in a three-bedroomed council house with his parents, mum Jeanette and his dad, also called Wayne.

The family have always been Everton-mad, and young Wayne's old bedroom window, visible from the street, was filled with the Blues supporters gear.

Wayne was only nine when he was spotted by an Everton scout.

At the time he was playing for boys' club Copplehouse in the local Walton and Kirkdale Junior League.

During the last season he scored nearly 100 goals before joining the Everton academy.

It wasn't long before he was playing for the under-19s and was ready for the big step up to first team football.

He burst onto the Premiership scene scoring a spectacular goal that ended an Arsenal unbeaten run when he was still only 16.

This summer Wayne set the recent European Championships alight with fantastic performances for England.